3.29.2011

the chewy [alton brown's chocolate chip cookies]

exactly one year ago - almost to the day - i declared the cook's illustrated chocolate chip cookie as the best cookie i've ever made. it seems like ever since then, alton brown and his ubiquitous chewy have been taunting me with promises of chewiness from the use of bread flour. until one friday night, when i just couldn't take it anymore, i gave in.

and now i don't know what to think! can there possibly be two best chocolate chip cookies?!


there's really only one thing that makes this recipe different from any other chocolate chip cookie i've ever made before: bread flour. sounds odd, right. and if you're like me, using it requires another trip to the grocery store, since i've yet to come across a reason to purchase it. until now. and at first, i was skeptical. could changing the flour really make the cookies chewier? i didn't buy it.

i didn't notice a difference in the texture until two days later, when the cookies were remarkably still really chewy. not dried out. not soft. but chewy. i wouldn't necessarily say i'm sold on the bread flour switch out, but it definitely didn't hurt.

what i did miss from last years' cookies is the browned butter. now that, is entirely different. magical, almost. the nutty taste is perfect in a chocolate chip cookie. i wonder how the cook's illustrated recipe would be made with bread flour? sounds like the next recipe when the next chocolate chip cookie hits.



the chewy
adapted from alton brown
15 min prep, 2 hours chill, 1 hour bake; makes 2 1/2 dozen large cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  1. melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. pour in a large mixing bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer) and set aside.
  2. in a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together. set aside.
  3. add the sugar and brown sugar to the melted butter and cream on medium speed, about 2 minutes. add the egg, yolk, milk, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  4. with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture until combined. stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. chill the dough at least two hours or overnight.
  6. when your dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  7. roll about 4 tablespoons of dough (or 2 ounces if you want to weigh each one) into balls or use a #20 disher, and place on the cookie sheet. be sure to leave ample room between them, as they spread while baking.
  8. bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack to cool. store in an airtight container.
check out more sweet eats at sweet tooth friday & sweets for a saturday!

9 comments:

  1. I've tried these cookies too. Yours look fantastic and it really is great how they stay so chewy.

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  2. Bread flour, huh? A chocolate chip cookie's worst trait is that it turns into a brick two days after baking. If bread flour prevents that, I'm sold.

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  3. I read your 'about' and noticed that you did capitalize in there. And I imagine that your master's work is capitalized also . . . .

    What's up? Justkidding, I can still read your typing so I guess I'll 'favorite' you.

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  4. yah. bread flour is a great way to make chewy cookies...I also liked the Cooks Illustrated recipe though too. I have a recipe from a professional cookbook that uses part bread flour and part all-purpose flour but not melted butter. I think the nuttiness is definitely a plus. Too bad there isn't a recipe that combines all the positives! Your cookies look scrumptious

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  5. I too have tried both (plus the NYT recipe)and ended up w/a bit of a combo recipe,using browned butter,and ghiradelli bittersweet chips,and of course,walnuts,with Alton's as the base recipe--always searching for the texture/taste of the original Mrs. Fields---which we feel we have achieved w/this combo,and of course serving warm is key

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  6. Mmm YES please! These looks superb!!

    Great blog; happy I found you!

    Mary xo
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  7. Yum! So interesting that they call for bread flour. Alton is a genius though.

    Thanks for linking up with Sweet Tooth Friday.

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  8. These look great. I've never made cookies with bread flour so I'm interested in the chewiness factor. Also, I think I'll try it with browned butter and see how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe.

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  9. I made the opposite switch - I made Alton's cookies with browned butter (you can find them on my blog) and really liked them. I was short on chocolate so I chopped it and that added another interesting dynamic! I hardly ever buy plain flour (I make all my own bread) so it's great to find recipes with bread flour included!

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